Welgemoed to open new restaurant

The Bistro Dom chef will collaborate with fellow Happy Motel member, designer James Brown on the new restaurant and bar, which will open in November.

There will be another exciting addition to Adelaide’s flourishing food and wine scene, as Bistro Dom’s Duncan Welgemoed is leaving his award-winning Waymouth Street restaurant to open a bar and restaurant in November. The Bistro Dom chef will collaborate with fellow Happy Motel member, designer James Brown (MASH), as well as Paul Glen and James Hillier (Golden Boy, Rocket Bar) on the new restaurant and bar, which will open in November. The yet-to-be named restaurant will be located in the east of the city, have a capacity for 80 diners and will be influenced by cuisine from South Africa and its surrounding areas, where Welgemoed is from. “It’s basically going back to my heritage,” Welgemoed, who curated the successful Lola’s Pergola degustation series First Fruit as part of the Adelaide Festival earlier this year, told The Adelaide Review. “We’re focussing on southern Africa for the first launch until we can start getting into it. What’s really interesting is that South Australia and southern Africa’s flora and fauna are quite similar. It’s easy for us to do and there are so many recipes. It’s what I cook at home. It’s so diverse and no-one’s doing it, really. If you think of African food you’re thinking something really home-cooked but it’s so much more than that.” Welgemoed says he wants to cook African-inspired food that’s “accessible, contemporary and fun”. The new place will cater for people who want to drop past for a snack or stay longer for a complete dining experience. More information will be released in early September. Doors will open in spring. Picture: Duncan Welgemoed and James BrownPhotographer: John Laurie